EAST LANSING -- Rose Bowl invitations aren't handed out after the season's first two weeks, so therein lies the newest challenge for Michigan State.

The Spartans are 2-0 and the Big Ten's best team. Other contenders have stumbled in non-conference play and have bigger question marks, while Michigan State's biggest challenger isn't even eligible to win the league title.

So, how will Michigan State handle being the clear favorite?

High expectations and Pasadena aspirations were easier to discuss in preseason camp, when rival Michigan held the higher spot in the polls, and Wisconsin still appeared to be a team capable of a third consecutive Rose Bowl trip.At No. 10 in the Associated Press poll, though, the Spartans are carrying the Big Ten flag for the second consecutive week and appear ready to hold onto it.

The conference's second-best team may reside in Columbus, but Urban Meyer's Ohio State team can't participate in postseason play.

The Buckeyes come to Spartan Stadium in a couple weeks, but there can be no rematch in Indianapolis. Instead, a team such as Purdue could be all that's left standing between Michigan State and the end of a 25-year Rose Bowl drought.

Just because the Spartans are the favorites, the task won't be easy.

Notre Dame, although not a conference game, presents a formidable next step in the progression of quarterback Andrew Maxwell.

The Spartans' defense will be tested by Braxton Miller when Ohio State visits Sept. 29, although Pat Narduzzi's history against mobile quarterbacks (see: Robinson, Denard) suggests he'll have a plan.

And then there's the three-week stretch that includes consecutive road games against Michigan and Wisconsin and then Nebraska at home, before finally reaching the bye week.

Michigan State wasn't shy of its goal entering 2012, and had no reason to be coming off back-to-back 11-win seasons, even with a new starting quarterback.

After watching the first two weeks of the entire conference, another bowl trip to sunny Florida won't be stomached. It's Rose Bowl-or-bust territory now, and it's up to the Spartans to rise to that challenge.